Australia and New Zealand share a similar history when it comes to literature. A rich oral tradition that predates European settlement, early colonial writing, and then in the 20th century, the emergence of a literature distinct from English literature and the writing of First Nations authors.
There are common themes too: unique landscapes, geographical isolation, participation in WW1 and WW2, and national identity, not to mention contemporary themes like globalisation, social justice and the pressures on relationships in the modern world.
In 2024, Lisa at ANZLitLovers and I want to celebrate this rich literary heritage by joining forces to spend a year discovering New Zealand fiction. Between us, we’re going to tackle our NZ TBR, and then see what else comes along!
Many New Zealand writers have international reputations, so their books are not hard to find overseas. Notable short-story writers include Katherine Mansfield, and Frank Sargeson; novelists Janet Frame, Patricia Grace, Witi Ihimaera, and Maurice Gee, plus Booker winners and nominees Keri Hulme, Lloyd Jones, Eleanor Catton, and Anna Smaill.
Other notable contemporary authors include Catherine Chidgey, Pip Adam, Emily Perkins, Charlotte Grimshaw, Fiona Kidman, Alan Duff, Elizabeth Knox and many, many more who you can find at Wikipedia here (20th century) and here (21st century).
If you’d like to join us, share the link to your own reviews on your own blog or social media account, in the comments below, and tag us both using the hashtag #AYearofNZLit:
- @anzlitlovers and/or @anzlitlovers.bsky.social
- @TessSmithWrites (Instagram)
My #AYearofNZLit TBR:
Review Roundup
The Fish by Lloyd Jones – ANZLitLovers
Decline and Fall on Savage Street by Fiona Farrell – ANZLitLovers
Theresa Smith Writes 
This sounds wonderful, I’ll be following you both and joining in when I can!
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Brilliant! Thank you 😊
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I have Lioness and Pet and a Charity Norman novel, I’ve not read her before, and plenty of others gathering dust. 🥰
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I was surprised by how many I had on my shelves too. Some I knew were from NZ authors, because I’d bought them when I was last over there, but others I had no idea were written by NZ authors. A couple I had mistakenly thought were written by Australians.
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Love a good reading project and NZ literature has so much to offer! Can’t wait until you get to Alan Duff 😃
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I haven’t heard of him!
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You mention him in your blog post, he’s the author who wrote Once Were Warriors, amazing book, incredible movie and haunting soundtrack!
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Oh, sorry, I thought you were referring to the books in my tbr photo… 🤦♀️
I don’t think he’s on my radar.
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Great news! I just acquired a copy of Bird Life 🙂
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Brilliant! I am keen to see what you think. It’s a great read.
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What a great idea. I’m looking forward to discovering more NZ authors since my experience so far has been pretty limited: Catton, Keri Hulme, Fiona Duigan and Lloyd Jones
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I look forward to you joining in with a few books then!
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Here’s my first one!
#AYearOfNZLit The Fish, by Lloyd Jones
Cheers:)
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Yay! I have Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones on my list.
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That’s the one they made into a film. Which was excellent too.
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That one has passed me by too. I’ll have to look into it.
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